Leather-staking machine



(No Mod e1.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1,

C. F. STACKPOLE. 3 LEATHER STAKING MACHINE.

No. 457,136. Patented Aug. 4, 1891;

Inn/ENTE (N0 Mddell) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

C. F. STACKPOLB. LEATHER. STAKING MACHINE.

Patented Aug; 4; 1891 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES F. STACKPOLE, OF LYNN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN M. SOHOFIELD, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

LEATHER-STAKING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 457,136, dated August 4, 1891.

Application filed October 17, 1890. Serial No. 368,399- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: acting surface, or if the entire jaw had to be Be it known that 1, CHARLES F. STACKPOLE, discarded in consequence of such wear, either of Lynn, in the county of-Essex and State of of which results would be likely if the yield- Massachusetts, have invented certain new ing jaw were in one integral piece or part, as and useful Improvements in Leather VVorkin all machines in use prior to myinvention,

ing or Staking Machines, of which the followso far as I am aware. ing is a specification. The invention also consists in the combina- This invention has for its object to provide tion, with the yielding jaw made in independcertain improvements in machines for stretchent sections, of means for applying an indero ing and working tanned skins to make them pendent yielding pressure to each section, so soft and flexible, and, by stretching the grain that thesections can yield independently, and or outer surface, open the pores so that they thus conform to wrinkles and other local inwill freely absorb coloring-matter, such maequalities in the thickness of the skin. chines being known among leather-manufac- The invention also consists in the means I 5 turers as staking-machines. Amachine of employed to adj ustably support the sections 6 this class hasa metallic scraping blade or jaw, of the yielding jaw, and in other improveagainst which the flesh side of the skin is ments, all of which I will now proceed to deheld, and an elastic presser or cushion which scribe and claim. presses the skin against said blade. Said In the accompanying drawings, forming a 26 blade and presser or cushion are arranged to v part of this specification, Figure 1 represents act as jaws which open or are separated to rea top view of a scraping jaw or blade and a ceive the skin between them and close upon sectional yielding jaw or cushion co-operatthe skin. They are reciprocated together or .ing therewith, said parts embodying my inin unison, and are separated while moving one vention. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the 2 5 way and closed upon the skin while moving construction shown in Fig. 1. Figs. 3and 4 the other way, the skin being held at one end represent, respectively, a top and a id i by the operator against the pull exerted on of a set of aws of modified construction, the it by the closed jaws, so that the blade scrapes blade or scraping-jaw being partly broken the skin and the two jaws together stretch away in Fig. 3. Figs. 5 and 6 represent atop 0 and soften the same while they are closed and a side view of another modification. upon it, The same letters of reference indicate the My invention relates, chiefly, to the consame parts in all of the figures. struction and relative arrangement of the said Referring first to Figs. 1 and 2, (1 represents jaws, and particularly to the construction of the blade or scraping-jaw, which is attached 35 the yielding jaw or cushion; and it consists, by bolts or screws 1) to an arm or carrier c, first, in a yielding jaw or cushion made in whiclrisconnected with a movable carriage, independently-adjustable sections, in combito which a reciprocating motion maybe imnation with a suitably-arranged scraping jaw parted in any suitable way. I v j or blade, said sections enabling the yielding d represents the sectional yielding jaw, 0 jaw to be adjusted to compensate for the varywhich s composed of sect1ons 6 6 6,0fela'stic 9o ing wear to which its acting surface is often vulcanized rubber or other suitable yielding subjected, said surface being'frequeutly worn material, and clamping devices adapted to away more rapidly at its central than at its ad ust-ably hold said sections andpermit their end portions. This unequal wear can be independent ad ustment. Thesections 6 are 5 taken up by an independent ad ustment of arranged to bear on the under side of the 5 the central sections, so that the period of useblade or scraping-jaw a near the operating f ulness of the yielding jaw as a whole is much edge of the latter. The clamping devices that reater than it would be if its unworn portions hold said sections are a series of pairs of pivhad to be cut away or dressed down in conseoted levers 7 7 each pair being composed of 5c quence of local wear not affecting the elastic alowerlever 7, supporting one of the sections lease said sections and permit their adjustment, this result being accomplished by adjusting-screws j, inserted in the rear ends of the levers 7 and bearing upon the rear portions of the levers 7, as shown in Fig. 2. There is a screw j for every lever 7 and when either of said screws is turned inward or downward it separates the rear ends-and forces together the forward ends of the pair of levers to which it belongs, thus clamping the section 6 which v is between said forward ends. Either section 6 may be released, to permit its independent adjustment, by turning outward the screw 7, connected with the levers that support it, thus loosening the section so that it may be moved endwise. Each pair of clamping-levers is.

' acted on by an independent spring g, which presses its grasping ends and the section 6 held thereby upwardly, to give said section a yielding pressure on the skin between it and the blade. There are a series of said springs g interposed between the rear ends of the lower levers 7 and a yoke or frame it, which is mounted to swing on the pivot e, that supports the series of levers. Said frame is provided with an ear h, which is 'adjustably connected with a projection f on the arm or carrier f by means of screws Z t, which rigidly,

yet adjustably, connect the frame h with said arm, By adjusting the screws '5 i the frame h may be either raised or lowered, and thus caused to decrease or increase the yielding downward pressure of the springs g on the rear ends of the levers 7, the forward grasping ends of said levers and the sections 6 thereon being pressed upwardly against the skin interposed between said sections and the blade at by said pressure. The pressure of each spring may be independently regulated by means of a series of adj ustingscrews m in the frame h, said screws bearing on plates in, resting on the upper ends of the springs 9. Hence each spring may be given more or less tension, as circumstances may require, so that if a weak place or hole should be found in the skin the pressure on one or more of the sections 6 may be decreased without varying the pressure on the entire series. The downward movement of the rear ends of the levers 7 may be limited by stop-screws 7c, of which there may be one for each lever 7, said screws being inserted in the arm f.

It will be seen from the foregoing that the sections of the yielding jaw d are adapted to be adjusted independently to compensate for wear, so that the parts of the said jaw. that are subjected to the greatest wear may be adjusted without disturbance of the other parts.

It will also be seen that by providing the jawsections with a yielding pressure against the skin and with means for varying said pressure, either throughout all the sections simultaneously'or in one or more independently, the machine can be readily adapted to various qualities and kinds of stock, so that the pressure can be made lighter when thin and delicate skins are being treated than with stronger and heavier skins. This provision of means for imparting to the yielding jawsections a yielding pressure, which is variable either throughout all the jaws at once or 10- cally, is an important feature of my invention.

The holders or carriers 0 f, supporting the scraping-jaw ct and the sectional jaw d, may be operated by any suitable mechanism, said carriers forming parts of an organized machine provided with means for closing the jaws upon a skin 5 and moving them simultaneously in the general direction indicated by the arrow in Fig. 2, when they are closed, and with means for moving the jaws in the opposite direction and at the same time separating them, so that the skin or another one may be inserted between them when they return to their starting-point. The operator holds one end of the skin in any suitable way, or by the aid of any suitable appliances, at a point to the left of the arm or carrier 0, as viewed in Fig. 2, so that the jaws slip upon the skin as they move in the direction of the arrow. The sections 6 hold the skin closely pressed against the under side of the scraping-jaw close to the scraping-edge of the latter, and thus afford a sufficient resistance to the slipping movement of the skin between the jaws to enable the jaws to thoroughly stretch the skin and at the same time render it pliable, both by the scraping action of the blade on its flesh side and by the abrupt flexure of the skin over the edge of the blade.-

The arrangement of the sectional yielding jaw so that it presses the skin against the under side of the scraping-jaw close to the edge thereof enables the skin to be bent very abruptly over the edge of the blade, as will be seen by reference to Fig. 2, this abrupt bending giving the pores in the grainor outer side of the skin the maximum stretching or opening. I prefer to make the edge of the blade a convex, as shown in Fig. 1, the yielding jaw-sections being arranged on a curve corresponding to the curvature of the said edge. This form of the edge of the blade gives a lateral stretch to the pores of the skin, the outer surface being stretched laterally by its conformation to the convex edge of the blade.

In Figs. 3 and 4 I show a modification in which the yielding-jaw sections 6 bear on a single plate '9, which extends as one piece under the whole series of sections, so that the sections have no independent yielding movement excepting that afforded by their inherent elasticity; The plate 9 is pivoted ate to ears on the arm or carrier f and is adjustably 0 f by screws 22 22, said screws connected at its rear end with said carrier by screws 10 10. The upperlevers 7 are formed and arranged substantially as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, and they are adjusted by the screws j, which bear at their lower ends on the plate 9. The sections 6 may be pushed forward in this modification to compensate for their wear by means of a rod 13, Fig. 4., passed through one of a series of slots 14: in the plate 9 and inserted in an orifice 15 in the lever '7, located above said slot, the rod 13 being then pressed against the rear end of the section 6, and thus caused to push it forward. There should be a row of orifices 15 in each lever 7, as shown in Fig. 3.

Figs. 5 and 6 show another modification,in' which the sections 6 are inserted side by side in a holder 17, which is connected by pivots 18 with the ears on the arm or carrier f. The sections 6 bear directly against the edge of the blade a in this case, said blade being straight. The sections are independently adjustable toward the blade by means of screws 19, inserted in the rear of the holder and bearing against the rear ends of the sections. Screws 20, inserted in the top of the holder, aid in retaining the sections at any positions to which they may be adjusted. The holder has an car 21, which is secured to the carrier enabling the holder to be turned on its pivots 18 to vary the height of the acting faces of the sections It will be seen that in each of the abovedescribed modifications the yielding jaw is made in sections which are independently adjustable to compensate for wear.

Other modifications may be made in the construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of the in- Vention.

The sections 6 may, if desired, be provided with metal tips or terminals to bear on the skin, said terminals being yieldingly supported.

Instead of using a series of separate springs g, I may use a continuous block or piece of rubber extending across all the levers 7, said strip being compressed over each lever 7 by one of the screws on and constituting an equivalent of the series of independent springs.

I claim- 1. The combination of a scraping blade or jaw, a series of independently-yielding sections constituting a yielding jaw, and means, substantially as described,for adjusting said sections independently, whereby the pressure of the yielding jaw at any point may be varied without varying the pressure at other points, as set forth.

2. In a staking-machine, a flat reciprocating scraping, jaw or blade having a laterallycurved convex edge projecting outwardly at its central portion farther than at its ends, whereby said blade is adapted to stretch a skin and open the pores thereof laterally, combined with a yielding reciprocating jaw adapted to co-operate with said convex edge in stretching a skin laterally, as set forth.

3. In a staking-machine, a fiat reciprocating scraping jaw or blade having a laterallycurved convex edge projecting outwardly at its central portion farther than at its ends, whereby said blade is adapted to stretch a skin and open the poresthereof laterally, combined with a yielding reciprocating jaw com posed of a series of sections arranged on a curved line corresponding to the curvature of the edge of the scraping-blade, as set forth.

4. The combination of a flat reciprocating scraping blade or jaw, the series of reciprocating elastic jaw-sections arranged to bear on the under side of said jaw or upon a skin interposed between the jaw and sections, a series of pairs of levers holding said sections, a carrier to which said levers are pivoted, and means for exerting a yielding pressure on said levers and on the sections held thereby, whereby the sections are yieldingly pressed against the blade, as set forth.

5. The combination of the flat reciprocating blade, its carrier, the series of pairs of levers pivoted to another carrier, the reciprocating yielding jaw-sections held by said levers, the series of adj usting-screws j, whereby the said sections may be either clamped or loosened independently, and means for exerting a yielding pressure on said levers and jaw-sections, as set forth.

6. The combination of the scraping-blade, its carrier, the series of pairs of levers pivoted to another carrier, the yielding jaw-sections held by said levers, means for clamping and releasing said sections, the pivoted frame h, adj ustably connected to the last-named carrier, and a series of springs interposed between said frame and the levers, whereby a yielding pressure is imparted through the levers to the jaw-sections, said pressure being variable by adjustment of the frame h, as set forth.

7. The combination of the scraping-jaw 61, its carrier 0, the carrier f, having the stopscrews k, the levers 7 7, pivoted in pairs to the carrier f, the yielding jaw-sections clamped between the forward ends of the levers, the frame h, pivoted to said carrier f and adjustably connected therewith, as described, the springs g,interposed between said frame and the levers 7, and the spring-adjusting screws m in said frame, all arranged and operating substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification, in the presence of two subscribing witnesses, this 15th day of October, AD. 1890. 1

CHARLES F. STACKPOLE. Witnesses:

O. F. BROWN, A; D. HARRISON. 

